How to Make a Habit of Using a Daily Planner

The daily planner will make it easier for you to remember important appointments and tasks, interesting activities, and deadlines. But it’s hard to get into the habit of using, updating, and carrying around a daily planner. Luckily, there are a few tips that can help seamlessly and efficiently incorporate a daily planner into your life.

Table of Contents

Find the right type of notebook

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Think about what you use your planner for. There are different types of daily planners to suit different jobs and personalities. ^{[1] X Research Source} Some are just very simple notebooks; Others have multiple sections to record different work items. Take a moment to think about why you want to use your daily planner and what it will be used for. It’s important to consider these things because you’re more likely to use a daily planner if it’s your only planning tool: having more than one planner at a time can be confusing and destructive. purpose. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you need a phone number entry?
Will you use it for the main purpose of remembering appointments?
Need a planner for more than a year?
Want a planner as an alternative to another organizing tool (like a to-do list)?
Do you want a simple notebook or do you have many different sections and sections?
Need a planner small enough to fit in your pocket or large enough to take notes during meetings? ^{[2] X Research Source}
Do you want a planner with plenty of room for weekdays, or mainly for weekend activities?

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Buy the planner that fits your needs. Daily planners are available at many stores, such as office supply stores, stationery stores, calendar stores, and online. Prices can vary from a few tens of thousands to over a million. ^{[3] X Research Source} While aesthetics are important, first and foremost attention should be paid to the layout and sections of the planner. Be sure to choose a book whose layout you’re comfortable with, and that fits your style and responsibilities.

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Consider the aesthetics of the daily planner. While functionality is paramount, you’re more likely to get in the habit of using it when the planner looks appealing and beautiful. ^{[4] X Research Sources} Some are very simple with black leather covers. Others are striking and unique with a variety of designs and elaborate designs. Any form is fine as long as it suits your working environment.

Pay attention to the aesthetics both inside and out. For example, some people prefer plain pages to lines. Some people prefer symmetry, others prefer a more flexible layout. You may also prefer one typeface to another. Be sure to find an eye-catching daily planner – inside and out – to encourage yourself to use every day. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Prepare pens and pencils. A daily planner won’t do you much good if you don’t write anything in it. Be sure to keep plenty of sharpened pencils and pens in places where you’re likely to use your planner most often. These places include:

Briefcase or work bag
Wallet
Desk
Table at home
Next to the desk phone
If you’re someone who loses their pen all day, it’s a good idea to stick a spare pencil inside your planner. Some notebooks even have a place to put a spare pencil.

Effective use of daily planner

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Determine to use a daily planner. Strongly committed people keep their promises. Habits are hard to change, but tell yourself that when you make a small change, you will form a new habit. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Remember that good habits are more likely to develop when focusing on just one thing at a time, so don’t push yourself too hard with new time management habits. For now, you should just focus on maintaining a daily planner. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Tell a friend about your intention to use your daily planner. People often maintain their new habits when others know about their resolutions and are able to support them. ^{[8] X Research Source} Talk to a friend or colleague about your new resolution. Maybe that friend is also looking to start a new and rewarding habit. You can remind each other to update the plan when needed.

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Each day keep the planner in a fixed place at home and at work. Use your daily planner as your only calendar: if you use two planners at the same time, you won’t be able to keep track of your responsibilities. However, this is quite troublesome because you need to include tasks at work and at home in the daily planner. To make sure you have a planner with you at all times, find a permanent place at work and a place at home to keep your daily planner. ^{[9] X Research Source} Never leave your notebook anywhere else: consistency is key to developing this habit.

The best places to keep a planner at home are next to your desk phone, in your work bag or briefcase, or next to your cell phone and car keys.
The best places to keep a planner at work are on your desk, in the middle drawer of your desk, next to your phone, or in your briefcase.

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Make a reminder to get in the habit of bringing your daily planner to and from work. When you are just starting to get used to using a planner, you may forget to bring it with you to and from work. To prevent this, write reminders in conspicuous places at work and at home. Studies show that sticky notes are one of the most effective methods of encouraging a particular behavior. ^{[10] X Trusted Source Harvard Business Review Go to the source} Apply this method by pasting pieces of paper that say “Do you remember your daily planner?” in places that are certain to be seen. These places are:

Your laptop
On the desk top
Next to the phone
On the door
On the dining table
On the bathroom mirror
You can get rid of these notes once you’ve developed the habit of bringing your daily planner to and from work.

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Transfer the information into your plan. When you first buy a planner, you will have to include a lot of information. You can have previously scheduled appointments, tasks in progress, and random stuff around. Take an hour or two to consolidate all this scattered information into your daily planner. This will help you to properly enter the information. It will also allow you to plan your time more efficiently. Things to write in the planner include:

Important communication with family, friends, colleagues and customers
The meeting
Schedule
Deadlines for projects at school or at work
Shift shifts (if your job isn’t on a fixed schedule)
Health and dental appointments
Birthdays of loved ones
Special events at work
Special personal events
Important dates for hobbies or extracurricular activities (for example, the day of your play or zumba class)

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View your daily planner every morning. Every morning before you go to work, double-check your upcoming appointments, meetings, and tasks. ^{[11] X Research Resources} Take a minute to think about whether there are tasks that need to be added to the schedule or that need to be removed. Use this time to plan your day so you can manage your time wisely once you’ve arrived at work. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Review the daily planner every afternoon. Before leaving the office, check the planner again. Make sure you’ve done everything set out for that day. ^{[13] X Research Resources} Think about if there are any new items to include in your planner for the next week. Always update your plan before you leave work to ensure that you can stay on top of your responsibilities. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Use positive reinforcement to stay motivated. Think of your daily planner as a positive rather than a distraction or hindrance. Use the planner as a means to reward yourself for completing a task. ^{[15] X Research Resources} Soon you will aim to complete a task just for the pleasure of crossing items off your to-do list. To energize yourself, you should:

Cross off all completed and completed appointments. Whenever you feel discouraged, look at all the things you crossed out and be proud of what you’ve accomplished.
Reward yourself for completing certain tasks. Check yourself after every 5 items you crossed out of the plan. For example, you can treat yourself to a cup of coffee or a walk once you’ve reached your desired goal. This will motivate you to use your daily planner properly and complete tasks.
Do something you love while looking at your daily planner. Try not to think of time as an obligation. Instead, consider it a useful tool. To associate your daily planner with a positive rather than negative feeling, try doing something enjoyable each morning and afternoon while viewing it. Drink a good cup of coffee, sip a chocpate bar or listen to a favorite song. Your brain will quickly associate your planner with positive feelings.
Reward yourself with something special after each week of effective use of the planner. When you are still in the early stages of getting used to using a planner, you may need to give yourself some extra motivation, helping you to carry your planner with you and update it every day. Remember to bring your planner and update each week, do something nice with yourself: eat ice cream, go to the movies, or have a drink with friends. In a few weeks, you’ll get used to using the planner all the time.
Write positive things along with important responsibilities in a planner. By using a daily planner to remind yourself of your favorite activities (having lunch with friends) as well as less enjoyable activities (going to the dentist), you can keep up with your new routine. me. ^{[16] X Research Source}

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Continue to update the daily planner if necessary. During your check-in time each morning and afternoon, you should enter any new to-dos, appointments, meetings, and deadlines. ^{[17] X Research Source} You can also update the planner when new tasks arise. Keeping your planner up to date will help you manage your time more effectively and avoid feeling overwhelmed. When you write down a task, you no longer have to keep it in your head, thus preventing a terrible feeling of anxiety and doubt.

If you feel overwhelmed, move some items to a “backlog” that can be done gradually. Don’t get discouraged by staring at tasks that never get done in a typical workday. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

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Please be patient. Sometimes it takes two months or more for a habit to become fully automatic. By the time the habit has taken root, you may have experienced slip-ups of leaving your planner at home or forgetting to keep appointments. Be patient and forgive yourself. Don’t forget that it takes time to form a habit, and occasional negligence won’t affect your ability to develop new habits. ^{[19] X Research Source}

One helpful way is to create a replacement plan for the times you leave your planner at home. For example, you can jot down work appointments on sticky notes and take them home to write in your planner. For extremely important events and deadlines, you can also use the online task manager to send yourself hourly reminders: that way, you won’t forget important data even if you don’t. forgot the planner.

Advice

Don’t think of the planner as a task, see it as an advantage. You’ll feel more in control of your life with a daily planner, and just a few minutes can save you hours in the long run.
The key to developing a new habit is consistency with positive reinforcement. Stick to a schedule, focus on all the positives the planner brings into your life, and reward yourself as needed to stay motivated.
Make sure that the planner you buy fits your schedule and interests. The notebook should have all the necessary sections to organize your life well.

Warning

As you develop this new habit, you can’t avoid the occasional mess. You might forget your planner at home, or mess up the date of the meeting. Think of this as a learning experience: don’t give up your daily planner. In the end it will make your life easier.

Steps

Find the right type of notebook

Effective use of daily planner

Advice

Warning

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